FAQ

Yes. Every star comes from the HYG catalog (merged from Hipparcos, Gliese, Yale and other real catalogs) with real coordinates and distance. It is a real star that exists in the night sky.

No. The star is real, but the name is a symbol we give it — commercial naming services are not recognized by the IAU. That is the honest part: you are buying meaning, not astronomical naming rights.

A memorial star is decided by the sky: the free preview shows the one real star nearest the zenith of that moment that is still unnamed — if several share the same angular distance, the closest to Earth wins. Its true magnitude, distance and spectrum are shown; no picking needed, just name it in their memory. If someone has just named it, the page asks you to search again.

Not by chance — by calculation: given the time and place of passing, the system computes the zenith (the point straight above) of that moment, then finds the real star nearest to it in our catalog — the one you see is genuinely the closest unnamed star overhead at that instant. The free preview stays valid for about 24 hours; once you order, the star is held for you for 7 days, and the naming is completed when payment clears.

Yes. Every star carries real right ascension / declination coordinates. Sky View computes its altitude and azimuth from your location in real time, telling you where to look.

Yes. Every star page accepts visitor messages — friends can leave wishes and you can read them anytime. Share your link to invite them.

The star name can be up to 20 characters (letters, digits and spaces) — it is printed on the certificate and shown on the star page. Your dedication is limited to 80 characters and is printed on the certificate too.

No. Your Star ID is a unique reference inside our system — it is not a designation granted by an astronomical authority. The star's real identity is its catalog ID (HIP/HYG); your certificate shows both, so everything is traceable.

No. Each star slot is held exclusively: reserved for you for 7 days after ordering, assigned to you once paid, and only released back to the market if the order is refunded.

Yes. Every star has a real position in our 3D starfield — hit Explore from My Memorial Stars or your star page and the camera flies to your star. The QR code on the certificate opens the same view.

Your star belongs to a specific constellation and carries real right ascension / declination coordinates (J2000). The star page shows the data, and Sky View computes its altitude and azimuth from your location right now — so you know exactly when and where to look.

Our stars come from real catalogs, with real distances ranging from tens to hundreds of light-years. Every star page shows the exact figure (Regulus in Leo, for instance, is 79.3 light-years away). One light-year is the distance light travels in a vacuum in a year — the light you see left the star years ago.

Not at all. Your zodiac sign is where the Sun was on the ecliptic; a memorial star is pure night-sky geometry — the real stars near the zenith (straight above) at the exact time and place of passing. Astrology reads fortunes; we compute where the sky really was, so you can hold a verifiable, coordinate-based keepsake.

Yes. Pets are family too — naming a star for a pet works exactly the same as for a person: enter the moment and place they passed and find the star nearest the zenith of that moment. Choose "a pet" and add the species; it is shown on the memorial record and the certificate.

No. The free preview simply shows the real unnamed star nearest the zenith of that moment — nothing is reserved or held for you. A star binds to a name only after payment; any name shown in a preview is illustrative.

Use the local sunset instead: after entering the date and place, tap "Don't recall the exact time — use the local sunset" under time precision. We compute the true sunset of that day and place with a standard astronomical formula (solar lower limb 0.833° below the horizon) and find the zenith star for that moment — deterministic and reproducible, no guesswork. If that day has no sunset there (polar day or night), the form asks you to use an exact time.

Very likely. Time decides where the zenith points: one hour moves it 15° across the sky, so even a few minutes can change which star is nearest; a few degrees of latitude change the band the zenith travels on. That is exactly why the star belongs to that moment and place — so enter the place and time you associate with them, or use the local-sunset option when the time is unknown.

The certificate and star page never expire. Coordinates are recorded in the J2000 epoch, and stars barely shift relative to one another for centuries; planetarium apps handle precession automatically when you need the highest precision. Like every star it will eventually end its life cycle — but on a timescale of billions of years. On any human scale of forever, it is there: reopen the page and re-download the certificate anytime.

By default only you can see it. Only when you choose to share does anyone with the link see the page — and sharing can be turned off anytime, after which the link stops working immediately. The time and place of passing are likewise shown to visitors only on pages you have shared.

Identical inputs always produce the same star — that is the flip side of reproducibility. In practice two people almost never share the same moment and place; if they ever do (commemorating the same event), the first to complete payment takes the star and later searchers are asked to search again. Positions are not reserved before payment, so we do not promise cosmic exclusivity — we promise this: the star was genuinely decided by that moment and place, and you can independently verify it in any sky-chart app, anytime.

No shutdown is planned, and none is intended — this is a memorial site, and the way we run it is for it to carry on. Memorial pages have no expiry date, no subscription and no renewal. The only deadline that exists applies to unpaid orders: an unpaid star position is held for 7 days, then released. Once paid, the page stays. We still recommend downloading your certificate and 300 DPI star charts to keep — the star lives in a public catalog and the certificate is your own file, yours to take with you anytime.

Yes. The memorial space is private by default and sharing is your choice; anyone you share the link with can open it and light a candle or leave flowers for them — no account or signup needed. Memorial pages stay out of search engines; the link you share is the only way in.

The HYG catalog merges Hipparcos, Gliese and the Yale Bright Star Catalog — three real astronomical databases — into one. Our star library is built on HYG (currently 107,838 stars across all 88 constellations), each with real coordinates, distance and spectral data.

Hipparcos was an ESA astrometry satellite mission (1989–1993) that precisely measured the positions and distances of 118,218 stars. Its HIP numbers remain one of the standard "IDs" of stars — that is the catalog ID printed on your certificate.

Apparent magnitude measures how bright a star looks from Earth — the smaller the number, the brighter the star. Regulus is about magnitude 1.4; the naked-eye limit is around magnitude 6. Magnitude only says how bright a star appears, so two stars of similar magnitude can be very different distances away.

Right ascension and declination are longitude and latitude on the celestial sphere: DEC runs from the celestial equator (0°) to the poles (±90°), and RA is measured eastward from the vernal equinox in 0–24 hours. Together they pinpoint any star uniquely — these are the coordinates printed on your certificate.

J2000 is the standard reference epoch for coordinates: astronomers pin positions to the celestial equator and equinox of noon on January 1, 2000 (Julian day 2451545.0). Because precession slowly shifts coordinates, quoting them against the J2000 standard lets anyone locate a star precisely — that is what "RA (J2000) / DEC (J2000)" on your card means.

You receive: 1) a dedicated star page with real astronomical data (coordinates, distance, magnitude, catalog ID); 2) a 3D sky — step back into the sky of that moment, plus a long-term visibility tracker for your star; 3) a shareable, message-capable 3D position in the starfield; 4) an instantly generated certificate PDF you can re-download anytime (name, constellation, coordinates, catalog ID and a QR code to your star page). Everything is available as soon as payment clears.

We accept credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and WeChat Pay. The secure checkout is hosted by Waffo Pancake as Merchant of Record; payments and refunds are processed under their rules.

Digital Star is customized digital content — the certificate is printed with the name and dedication you specify, and is generated and delivered the moment payment clears, taking effect as soon as it is downloaded. Payment therefore counts as fulfilment, and refunds are not given for change of mind or "downloaded but no longer wanted" reasons. If the certificate or star page does not match the description or has a quality issue, contact us — we will fix it free of charge, or give a full refund if it cannot be fixed, after which the star slot is released back to other users. Payments and refunds are handled by Waffo Pancake as Merchant of Record and returned via the original payment method.

Instantly. Your star page, 3D starfield position and certificate PDF are all generated the moment payment confirms, and the certificate can be re-downloaded anytime from My Memorial Stars — a pure digital delivery, nothing to wait for.

Yes — contact us anytime and we will correct it: the name is updated on your star page and certificate (see the Contact page).

There is no need to change it: the star we calculate from the time and place you provide is exactly the right one.

Sign in to My Memorial Stars to see every star you own with its Star ID, and re-download your certificate PDF anytime. The certificate itself carries the catalog ID and a QR code to your star page — it is the most reliable way to recover your details.

Absolutely. Every star is an independent memorial record with its own name and certificate — run a new search for each person or pet you want to remember and keep them all together in My Memorial Stars.